When they first arrived, there was no church or school. Almost the entire population would often meet at one another's farms for informal prayers and hymns.

In the meantime, they started building a church which Matty Baraniuk had donated the land for. He also gave land for the school and for a hall. Matty built a house for himself, then he sold it for a school. The cemetery was bought from Rosedale Municipality by five families: Matty Baraniuk, Eli Zahodniuk, Mrs. Pauline Boyko, Dimnon Swirbivus, and Matty Pasowysty.

Mrs. Annie Sokolik had the first cross put in the cemetery for her mother, Mrs. Pauline Boyko, who died in 1908.

The first family to come to this area was Mr. and Mrs. Zahodniak in 1896. In 1898 eleven families came. In 1899 more families arrived: Wasyl Woloski, Yakiw Yakowenko, John Lewadney, Safronie Sawchuk, Mike Yakiwchuk, Wasyl Wonsul, Stach Bilkoski, Metro Kozak, John Baryla, Metro Rawluk, Axenty Todoruk, George Boyko, Anufry Romaniuk, Peter and Onufrey Oshanyk, Mattie and Eli Sawchuk. They all had their wives and children with them.

(Source: Rosedale Remembers 1884-1984, pp 100f [1984; Adapted])

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The church of the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the third church of the parish. The first church, a small wooden structure, was constructed in 1904 by the Ukrainian settlers of Mountain Road upon a 2-acre site in the settlement. The rapid growth of the parish necessitated the construction of a second larger one, a need which was realized in 1923-1925 upon the site of the original church. It was the largest and most beautiful church in Canada of that time. It was blessed on Oct. 14, 1926. To the immense sorrow of the parishioners and, indeed, the entire Ukrainian Canadian community, this beautiful, majestic church was destroyed by fire, necessitating the construction of the third, present-day church, which was accomplished in 1966-68 upon the same site, a short distance east of the original spot.

The parish cemetery lies one mile (1.6 km) east of the church.

Settlement of the Mountain Road area by Ukrainian pioneers began in 1900. Founders of the parish were Matthew Baraniuk, Joseph Zakhidniak, Accentij Todoruk, Michael Baraniuk, Ilya Baraniuk, Yurij Kostynchuk, Matthew Pasowysty and Ivan Soroka. In 1941 the parish registered 150 member familes with over 500 children and youth. Currently only 23 members remain. The Ukrainian Catholic parish of the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mountain Road, is under the pastoral charge of Neepawa.

(Source: Ukrainian Catholic Churches of Winnipeg Archeparchy, pp 162f [1991; Adapted])

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Established in 1903.

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society)

In 1903, the Hudson's Bay Company sold a small parcel of land for $12 to the Archiépiscopale Catholique Romaine de St. Boniface Diocese. In 1945, the Corporation made a "gift" of the land (for $1) to the Greek Catholic Parish of Mountain Road.

Located at NE-08-17-16-W1, one mile west of Mountain Road Church, this cemetery was the burial site for Ukrainian settlers in the region. White wooden crosses formerly marked the graves but, over the years, most decayed leaving the graves unmarked.

(Source: Manitoba Historical Society [Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD16-08-17-16-W1

In the Rural Municipality of Rosedale

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As noted above, a part of the community's story, and those of its inhabitants, from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1984 is told in the volume "Rosedale Remembers 1884-1984", especially on the cited pages. A free digital version of this and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0995), transcribed by a member or members in 1995. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).

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As also noted above, the volume "Ukrainian Catholic Churches of Winnipeg Archeparchy", also freely available online via the U of Manitoba Digital Archives, provides information about the parish, especially starting on page 162. That one book is from Volume IV in the set entitled "History of Ukrainian Catholic Churches in Canada".

Additionally, the Ukrainian Museum of Canada (Manitoba Branch) centralizes, curates and makes available extensive records from various groups related to the communities established by the families of Ukrainian descent who settled lived in, died in, or contributed to the story of Manitoba.